GEO Business Postponed until May 2021

GEO Business organizer Diversified Communications UK has confirmed that this year’s show has been postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The UK’s largest geospatial event designed for everyone involved in the gathering, storing, processing and delivery of geospatial information will now take place on 19-20 May 2021 at ExCeL London.

This week’s announcements also include the new dates for Digital Construction Week (DCW), the UK’s only event dedicated to digital construction, engineering, design, manufacturing and operation, with the show now set to run alongside GEO Business.

The magnitude and unprecedented scale of the Covid-19 outbreak and the subsequent government restrictions have affected the lives and livelihoods of people and businesses around the world. While the UK’s strict lockdown measures are expected to ease over the coming months, social distancing and restrictions on mass gatherings look to remain for the rest of the year. Notably, many GEO Business exhibitors and visitors are among the 7.5 million people currently furloughed, which makes it even harder for firms to plan many months ahead.

Too Many Questions

Caroline Hobden, Diversified UK’s event and portfolio director, says: “Like all businesses, we have been closely following the rapidly changing developments during these difficult times. While we were hopeful that the current tough measures on restricted social interaction would be lifted by the autumn, there are still too many questions surrounding hotels, travel, social distancing measures and individual company policies to make it viable to run GEO Business this year. Clearly, the best and most responsible option for everyone involved is to wait and host an even better show in 2021.

“We appreciate how important GEO Business is to the geospatial profession and are very sorry to disappoint the thousands of attendees that were planning on exhibiting and visiting. However, the success as well as the safety of our exhibitors, visitors, speakers and partners has always been our priority and we are hoping that everyone will get behind this tough but necessary decision.

“The good news is that much of the event planning is already in place, and we go into 2021 with an incredible amount of goodwill and encouragement. The GEO Business team would like to thank the whole community for their support. We look forward to working together to ensure that it continues to be the celebration and gathering the geospatial profession deserves – and can be proud of.”

GEO Business and Digital Construction Week will take place on 19-20 May 2021 at ExCeL London. Although the two shows will maintain separate identities and focus, visitors and exhibitors will benefit from a potential boost in seeing an even greater range of products and customers.

Strategic Co-locate

Oliver Hughes, Diversified UK’s event director, says: “DCW and GEO Business both explore technology in the built environment and have some great potential for collaboration and certainly a crossover of attendees. We are thrilled with this strategic co-locate and feel that both events will benefit hugely from this move. While both will remain separate shows, they will in effect create one much larger technology event for the sector.”

The postponement of GEO Business and DCW to May and the decision to run the two shows alongside one another has been supported by the event’s key partners and scores of exhibitors.